


Do You See What I See?

by pipermca



Series: Prompts and Events [13]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Alien Biology, Christmas, Cultural Misunderstandings, Fluff, M/M, Winter Solstice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:54:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28301187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pipermca/pseuds/pipermca
Summary: "Hey, Hound," Bluestreak said, his tone thoughtful. "If Cybertron was ever recaptured by a star, do you think we'd have a celebration to welcome back the dark?"
Relationships: Bluestreak/Hound (Transformers)
Series: Prompts and Events [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1129820
Comments: 10
Kudos: 35





	Do You See What I See?

The bright lights and interference radiation that shone through the rec room was very distracting, but it was necessary for the comfort of the Autobots' human guests. It was such a huge distraction, in fact, that Hound wasn't sure what exactly had finally made him take notice of Bluestreak's souring mood. Maybe it was the distinct downward tilt Bluestreak's doorwings had picked up over the course of the evening. Maybe it was the unusually stressed quavers that Hound was seeing in Bluestreak's field. Or maybe it was his smile, which had started to look more and more forced as the night went on.

Whatever it was, Hound finally went up to Bluestreak and gave him a little nudge with his elbow. "I'm going to go outside for a bit. Did you want to join me?"

When Bluestreak's wings rose back up to his shoulders, and he fluttered them with a grateful smile, Hound knew he had been right.

They could still hear the deep bass beat of the music as they got to the ramp of the Ark, loud enough to cause the decking to vibrate under their pedes. "Did you have fun tonight?" Hound asked, lifting his helm to scent the winter air. It was crisp and smelled clean. When they reached the ground, their pedes crunched through the freshly-fallen snow, leaving prints that started bright before fading to the cool dim glow of the snow around them.

"I did, mostly! It was a lot of fun, especially at the beginning, hearing Jazz, Bumblebee and Spike sing all of those holiday songs," Bluestreak said. Then he frowned slightly. "I wish we could have heard more of them. The songs – carols? - were a good mix of calm and fun. But I know some of the other Autobots really wanted to get to the dancing." He shook his wings a bit and added, "I was fine for a while, but the volume really started to get to me in the end." Bluestreak gave Hound another thankful smile, his field stretching out to brush against Hound's affectionately. "I'm quite happy to get out of there for a bit."

Hound nodded in understanding. "I was pretty sure it was the volume that was bothering you. You usually like parties."

"Yeah. It was just a bit too much after a while. I'm surprised Prowl held out as long as he did, to be honest. He usually ducks out of parties before Blaster really gets going." Bluestreak shrugged. "I think he got into a deep discussion with the Secretary General and didn't realize the dancing was starting." He flashed another smile, his face brightening. "You probably noticed how quickly he made his apologies and left after that."

Hound nodded. The Praxians on the ship were known to be sensitive to loud noises, although to different degrees. "Smokescreen didn't seem that bothered by the sound," he said.

"Oh, he probably was bothered, just like I was," Bluestreak said with a laugh. "But he had to stay to watch Ratchet and Ironhide. He had a pool going on the side for who was going to drink who under the table."

The Chief Medical Officer and the Prime's bodyguard had sat down at a table together near the start of the party, and had been drinking constantly as the night wore on, pacing each other drink for drink. Hound smiled. "You know, I was going to put some energon down on that, but it was a real toss-up for who would win. I decided to save my rations for something that was more of a sure bet."

By now they'd walked down the road a good distance from the Ark. Away from the floodlights that lit the area around the ship for the benefit of their human guests, the stars shone down with hardly even a flicker from the atmosphere. Bluestreak stopped and craned his neck to look up at the sky. "It's so still and clear tonight! I'll bet the stars would look even more amazing from our overlook." He glanced at Hound. "Did you want to head up there?"

"Do you think you'll be able to make it up that last stretch?" Hound asked. "About eight centimeters of snow fell this morning. It's not a lot, but that last bit before the overlook is really steep."

Bluestreak stretched his arms over his helm, rocking back and forth to stretch his cables. "I'm sure I'll be fine," Bluestreak said. He spun his shoulder wheels and added, "And if it gets too bad I can just walk the rest of the way up, right?"

What Bluestreak had called 'their' overlook was a rocky outcropping in the hills over the Ark. No trees grew on it, and it had a clear view above it and to the east. It was the perfect place to go for a little bit of time alone, since the rough path leading to it was difficult for low-clearance mechs to navigate. It was also a fantastic place for stargazing.

As Hound suspected, Bluestreak did have a little trouble with the last part of the path, being a low-clearance mech himself. After sliding backwards in the snow a few times, he transformed, and was able to clamber up the rest of the way with Hound's help.

"I guess it **was** pretty slippery," Bluestreak said with a laugh as he collapsed down to sit beside Hound. He looked upwards again, his optics changing to a more intense hue as he gazed at the sky above them. "Thanks for the assist."

"Any time." Hound glanced at Bluestreak, finally able to see all of his lover without having to dampen down his optical sensors. Bluestreak's electromagnetic field flowed and pulsed around him, showing that he was starting to relax, and his biolights were slowly returning to a more calm colour. "You know, if you'd wanted to leave the party, you didn't have to wait for me to say anything, Blue."

Bluestreak looked at Hound in surprise, then ducked his helm, the infrared pulses of the sensor net under his cheeks glowing bright. "Aww... You looked like you were having fun. I didn't want you to leave before you wanted to. You looked like you were having a really interesting conversation with Sparkplug."

Hound vented in soft frustration, just like he always did when Bluestreak put Hound's desires ahead of his own needs. "If you weren't having fun, then I would have been perfectly all right leaving," Hound said. He brushed his fingers against Bluestreak's. "Tell me next time, all right? Please?"

"All right." Bluestreak's field shifted, incorporating longer wavelengths as it reached out to mingle with Hound's affectionately. "What were you talking to Sparkplug about, anyway?"

"He was explaining the holiday to me," Hound said. "Bumblebee's explanation was so... so **out there** , I decided I wanted to hear it directly from the source. And sure enough, Bee got some things garbled."

"Which parts?" Bluestreak asked. "Was it about the radioactive flying deer, or the fat man in the red coat bringing presents to some special humans in a barn? Because I tried asking Bee more about that and his explanations didn't make sense."

"Those were actually all correct," Hound said, then he frowned slightly, remembering how Sparkplug's explanations had seemed to wander between fact and myth. "I think." He shook his helm. "But I specifically wanted to ask Sparkplug about the significance of the tree, and why we had to kill a perfectly healthy plant just so we could string lights on it."

"And what did he say?" Bluestreak asked.

"He didn't really know," Hound said. "He admitted he isn't a historian, but he'd read that it has something to do with the symbolism of evergreens in the winter, trees that stay green even in the snow. And he thought the lights might be something from the solstice, which happens just a few days before Christmas. But like he said, he didn't know for sure." Hound looked upwards again at the brilliant night sky overhead, shattered through with this star system's beacon-like plants, and the remnants of supernovas. "That got us talking about other celebrations around this time, like Yule and Hannukhah. The Chinese ambassador overheard our conversation, and he told us about the Dongzhi Festival before he wandered off to talk to Optimus." Hound's optics tracked the almost too-bright light of an aircraft passing overhead, its navigational lights augmented by the radio frequencies it was broadcasting into the air all around it. "There are all these holidays marking the shortest day of the year, where humans were anxious for the sun to return and for the days to get longer."

With a snort, Bluestreak brushed one of his door wings against Hound's shoulder in a playful nudge. "Here we are, being thrilled with how short the days have gotten in this hemisphere, when it turns out the humans prefer it the other way around." He thought for a moment, then added, "I mean, it was warmer during the summer, but I know that everyone had a really hard time with how bright it was."

"Except Jazz," Hound said, nodding. He remembered back to the first summer the Autobots had spent on Earth, when the blindingly bright radiation from the planet's star nearly burned out everyone's optical sensors. The Autobots were restricted to only operate at night before Ratchet had devised a special coating for everyone's optics to protect them from the worst of the bright sunlight. The coating had brought the daytime ambient radiation down from searing to merely uncomfortable. Only Jazz, whose optics had never been very sensitive in the wavelength that the humans called 'visible light,' wasn't particularly affected by the new environment. "Maybe that's why he likes this planet so much."

"Nah, I'm pretty sure he loves it for the music," Bluestreak said. He nudged Hound again. "And I know you really like this planet too, even if it **is** too bright."

Hound leaned into Bluestreak's touch, their shoulders brushing against each other's. "I just like seeing all the life here. I mean, look around. Even now, in the winter, at night, you can literally see all of the life around us, and it's **everywhere**. Even in the Sludge Swamps, Cybertron doesn't have this much life." He looked down the hill from the overlook, into the valley below them. "But here, in every nook and every cranny, you can see there is something **alive**."

It was true. From the pines around them, to the fox creeping between them, to the elk slowly crossing the clearing beneath them, to the voles sleeping under the snow, to the beetles hidden under the bark of the trees, there was life everywhere. It was all painted out for their sensitive optics and sensors in vivid infrared, like flares in the dark.

Hound felt Bluestreak's field twining around his, drafting along with him and his delight at all of the wonders this world still held for him. "It **is** pretty cool, pup," Bluestreak said, his optics scanning the tree line, following the soundless flight of an owl, whorls of infrared spinning off of its wings into the cold air. "I can definitely see why you like this planet."

They sat in silence for a while, just watching the sights and listening to the noises of winter around them. When the wind shifted, Hound could catch the faint thrum of music from the _Ark_. Beside him, Blusetreak's systems hummed softly, his biolights finally settling into their most peaceful hues.

Above them, a meteor streaked across the sky, leaving behind it a sparkle of burning dust that slowly faded from view.

"Hey, Hound," Bluestreak said, his tone thoughtful. "Did you ever wonder... If Cybertron was ever recaptured by a star, do you think we'd have a celebration to welcome back the dark?" He turned and looked at Hound, his optics glowing softly in deep ultraviolet now that they were fully adjusted to the deepest part of the moonless night. "You know, like humans celebrate the sun coming back?"

"I suppose that's a good possibility," Hound said. He thought for a moment, then added, "I wonder what the celebrations would be like?"

Bluestreak shrugged. "I do like some of the traditions here. You know... I'd like to borrow the traditions of giving gifts, and of feasting, if we ever have enough fuel to go around, that is." His field quivered slightly as he considered this. "And I know you don't like them cutting down a tree just to decorate it, but maybe we could do the same without killing anything. You know, like decorating a crystal with..." Bluestreak rocked back and forth for a moment as he thought. "I don't know. Something to celebrate it getting dark again." His wings dipped slightly. "I'm not very creative."

"You're plenty creative, Blue," Hound said, leaning to bump their shoulders together again. When Bluestreak's lights pulsed in gentle modesty, Hound huffed a quiet laugh. "Although I might not mention your idea to Wheeljack, or else he'd want to figure out how to decorate a crystal with tiny black holes."

Bluestreak closed his optics and laughed, throwing back his helm, his amusement rippling through his field. When he opened his optics again, he froze suddenly, staring up at the sky. "Hound, look at that!" he whispered.

Hound followed Bluestreak's gaze and smiled. "Now, that's something you don't get on a planet without a star," he said. He stared upwards, letting his amazement spike into his field with bursts of excited x-rays that he normally wouldn't do in more formal company.

Streaks of radiation undulated across the sky, sending bands of greens and blues and ultraviolet shimmering across the cold darkness of space. The lights created curtains that waved peacefully back and forth as if blown by gentle winds far above the atmosphere.

"It's so... It's so..." Bluestreak murmured, his field and biolights unconsciously mirroring the display in the sky above them. "It's so..."

"It's gorgeous," Hound whispered, capturing as much of the aurora display as he could in his memory files. His hand found Bluestreak's again, and he wove their fingers together. "I'm so glad we're out here to see this, together."

He felt Bluestreak leaning in towards him, his field pulled in to let Hound's swirl freely around them. Bluestreak pressed a kiss onto his cheek and said, "What do the humans say again? Happy Solstice? Mmm, no, Christmas. Happy Christmas, Hound."

"Merry Christmas, Blue."

**Author's Note:**

> For all my of readers, as thanks for sticking with me through this crazy year... I hope you have a very happy and safe holiday. 💗
> 
> If you enjoyed this fic, please consider sharing it on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/pipermca/status/1342265530217099265), [Tumblr](https://pipermca.tumblr.com/post/638431937677197312/do-you-see-what-i-see), or [Pillowfort](https://www.pillowfort.social/posts/1949599)!


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